Electric water heater



i im W. W. HICKS ET AL ELECTRIC WATER HEATER Filed July 17 1922 l INVENTOR5. MM WEJLEI/ H/C/(J .4277171 KEAQCHEE Peten ller., 4, 1923.K

leihgllfili 0F SAN FRANCISCC, I; iff; BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

ELECTRIC WATER HEATER.

Appiieauon med :muy 17',

. ,om e3 may concern: Be it known that we, WILLLAM WESLEY ons ARTHUR J. Knnonnii, Citizens of the United States, and residents, respeci tively., of the eity and county of San Franei fo., :i nf Berkeley, county of Alameda, l i le State of California, have in ertein new and useful Electri(` at r., of which the following is e tion relates to electric Waiter particularly to the circulation eter heater.

fiijxeet of the invention is to provide electr-io water heater having a. large iiieizt of the invention is to pro en electric Water heater of such con struction that its heating capacity may be t?? changed.

Another obiect of the invention is to provide e Water heater of such construction :met i 'Wouts of the electrie heating ele :nente e e rednced to a minimum.

gli@ The ention possesses other advantageous features, some of which, with trie foregoing, will be set forth at length 1n the folleving description Where We will outline in i., that form of the invention which We im have selected .for illiistratien in the il Fig. is a longitudinal section of the nesten o F' l 'is a longitudinal section taken on nresent serif-,e has een designed to provie large mpeeity Water heater of smell dimensions, which is preferably s ted ,to lie used in homes in connection trink, to liest the water in heater is constructed so that ,Y t heating capacity nifty he .y changing the number of heat elements Thus the shells may he made l, standard size and in large quantity `Further, the i 1922. Serial 576,698

and Water heaters of different capacities produced by fsertinv different numbers of heating elements in the, shells. The heating elements are ina-cle standard, so that a variety of different capacity heaters may be produced e: manufacturer from shells and 'renting eleiner s of one standard size* l? or instance, ii e o e-vvatt heater is required, two lient ernei'its may be assembled in the shell; if a two-wntt heater is required, foei' heating e ents nre assemiiledin the shell, and so on to the capacity of the shell tien is sueh that tiie purchaser may readily vary the capacity of the heat uely adding or removing;r l'ieating uni -Ti'ie heater e: preferably a eylim drieal metallic shell 2 having e water inlet conduit 3 disposed et the side and an outlet conduit et disposed at the top. Arranged within the shell are the upper and lower heads 5M@ which enclose the water eliamhei'. Secured to the heads and extending through the weiter chamber are a plurality of metallic tubes 7 in which the electric heating elements are disposed,

It is desirable that both ends of the resistance Wire of the heating elements be con neoted to terminals disposed at one'end of,

the heater, that all connections may he at the bottom I made at olie place, preferably of the heel The heating elements comprise rods l e ores 8 of refractory mate-rial provided vvfitii helical `thread en which the resistance Wire is Wound from one end of the oore. to the other. The cores are rovided attheir ends with enlarged hea 9 on lfiotli ends, 'which fit snugly in the tubes,

tl" 'esistrinee soils in the tubes and the cores are preferably 4of less length L so they' are disposed j. i r` v principali, n the lower port/lons of the tubes when in elosethermzifi Conta/et with the cooler enterin temperature and quickly burns out. lt has also been proposed to connect two resistance elements in series over the tops ot the tubes, but this requires electrical connections to be made over the tops ot thetubes after the cores are inserted, requiring dismantling ot the heater in the event that it is desired to insert heating elements after the heater has been assembled and requires rather elaborate means and care to insulate the top connecting wires, particularly when the. cores are disposed principally at the bottom portions ot the tubes. ln accordance with our invention, we provide a construction which eliminates all ot these undesirable features and which permits the installation or removal of heating elements by merely removing the bottom closure plate and slipping the heat. ing elementsin or out. lille accomplish this result by providing a unit hea-ting elem-ent comprising two cores wound with resistance wire, the wire on the two cores being conneobed together at the top by the wire l2 which is covered with an insulatine' bead or sleeve 13. 'lhe tubes 'Z are also lorined in pairs, orming duplex tubes. 'lwo adjacent tubes are connected by a passage let extending longitudinally ot' the tubes for at least the length of the heating elements. 'lhe duplex tube has a cross section somewhat in the vlorin ot a figure 8 having two chambers Itor the receipt ot the two cores forming the duplex heating unit and narrower connecting passage through which the cross wire l2 and its insulator ass as the heating unit is inserted or withdrawn..

The shell is closed at the bottom by a plate l5 removably held in ,place by screws or other suitable ineens, and the terminalsy l@ mounted on the plate, being insulate-d "strom by suitable means, such as bloc-lts insulation. The shell is enclosed in a heat insulating juclret, usually formed in two pieces llnlt), which slip over the shell, and through the .lower one of which, the current 'carrying ires pass. rlllie insnlatinou 'aclret preterably comprises metallic sliel lrl ls ,19 having linings 2l olA heat insulating material, such as asbestos.

TWe claim :m

ln electric water heater comprising-a shell adapted to receive the water to be nested, a duplex Atube arranged in said shell und a duplex heating unitdisposed in said tribe.

'. lin an electric heater, a duplex tube a duplex heating unit disposed in said electric heater, a duplex tube and unit disposed in said tube, .iinals ot the heating unit being dised at the saine end thereol".

ln. elect-ric beater, a pair et tubes.

6. ln an electric heater, a pair of subs stantially parallel tubes connected together by a passageway extending in the direction. oi' the length of the tubes for the length of heating elements, a pair of heating ele ments, disposed in said tubes, a condiictor 'connecting said heating elements and disposed in said passageway and an insula or on said conductor.

7. lin an electric heater, a pair ot substrnw tially parallel tubes connected together oy a passageway extending in the direction the length of the tubes from one end thereof, a lielically wound heating element ineach tube, and a conductor connecting the elements together at their ends remote trom said tube ends and disposed in said passageway. l y

8. ln an electric heater, a pair ot substantially parallel tubes connected together along their length by a passageway extending' from one end ot the tubes, ft-refractory' core in each tube, a helically wound heating eleq nient on each core and a conductor connecting the ends et the heating elements at their inner ends and lying in said. passage way.

9. ln an electric heater, a plurality ot dnplea tubes, a duplex heating unit in each. tube, and adjacent terminals to which the heating units are connected.A

l0. An electric water heat/er comprising a shell adaptedl to receive the water 'to be heated, a plurality ot tubes arranged in said shell connected together in pairs along their lengths by passageways extending from one end of the tubes, a heating element in each ot the tubes, conductors lying in said passageways and connecting the heating elements together in pairs at their inner ends,

and a pair of terminals to which the other ends ot' the heating elements are connected.

ll. ein electric water heater comprising shell adapted to receive the water to be heated, a plurality of tubes arranged in said shell connected together in pairs along their lengths by'passageways extending from one end ot the tubes, a heating element in each ot the tubes, conductors lying in said pessageways and connecting the heating ele-- ments together in pairs at their inner ends,

3 fffranged below said tubes 13. An electric Water heater comprising t umile to which the other` a Shell, a plurality of du lex tubes open at 15 e ting elements are connected, their lower ends arrange in said shell and o1 sa 'l plete. duplex heating units having both ends of electric; Water heater comprising the heating Wire disposed at the bottom iaisverse head in said Shell, a. pluthereof, disposed in said tubes.

luplex tubes arranged in said shell In testimony whereof, we have hereunto 20 ig: on said head, terminals ai'- Set our hands.

seid head and duplex heatin ii ld tnoee and eonneete WILLIAM WESLEY HICKS.

` woth ends ofi the resistJ ARTHUR J. KERCHER.

on duplex heating unit lying of the unit. 

